What If Shadow Survived?
by Stoney
Summary: Though done to death and then some by others, I felt that my take on this subject was good enough to deserve a spot here. Concides with the events of my fic 'What If Sonic and Metal Sonic Switched Places?'. Welcome back, readers, to the What If Zone.....
1. Prolouge and Chapter 1

**Prolouge**

  
"To weep is to make less the depth of grief." 

--William Shakespeare, 1564-1616  
  
  


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**Mobius--Orbit**

**July 10, 3236**

**7:33 pm, EMT (Eastern Mobian Time)**

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"Shadow, look out!"

A flash of gold, and the barrage of egglike projectiles that had nearly impacted a silver hedgehog instead hit nothing at all. Several meters away, the hedgehog in question watched them continue to sail on endlessly into space as a different hedgehog, one that shone a bright burnished yellow, held him by the shoulders with a worried look on his face. "Shadow! Are you all right?" He asked telepathically, since there was no air around them to carry sound.

The glowing hedgehog called Shadow knocked his friend's hands away and turned around, brushing away both their worries like one might a pesky housefly. "I'm fine, Sonic." His reply came shortly in a smooth, low tenor. "Thanks for helping me out there, though." He turned to face his companion fully as he voiced a question of his own. "Did you get the rings?"

The golden hedgehog, Sonic, held out an arm whose entire length was weighted down with several gold ringlets that encircled it. "Got 'em!" He crowed. "Piece of cake!"

Shadow didn't share his enthusiasm, and merely arched one eyebrow at the outburst. Sonic grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm just a little pumped about being Super again after so long." 

The conversation was interrupted as the small headphone radios that Sonic and Shadow wore came crackling to life. "Sonic, we're in danger." Knuckles' distant voice spoke up. "The colony will enter the atmosphere in about four minutes! Hurry!"

The smile faded from Sonic's face quickly as he heard this news. "Crap." He muttered, becoming serious again. "The situation's worse than I thought! Hey Shadow, how did Knux say these radio things work again? I was kinda zoned out when he told us."

A snort. "Typical behavior I'd expect of you. Well, if I remember correctly, the Guardian said they directly stimulate the small bones of your ear, so they can function within the vaccuum of space. To respond to a message, you just think clearly what you want to say."

"Oh, all right. Uh, hey Knux, can ya hear me up there?"

The echidna's voice came back on, sounding less alarmed and more amused than before. "Yeah, and we're picking up the messages that you and Shadow are sending each other, too. Believe me, that's the last time I'm ever gonna try to explain anything to you, buddy."

"Er.....Shadow, can they really hear our telepathy?" The silver hedgehog in question gave a noncommital grunt. Sonic sweat-dropped. "I'll take that as a 'yes', then."

"Sonic," a shrill, high-pitched feminine voice squeaked. "LOOK OUT!"

Sonic blinked. "Eh?" 

WHAM. A second hail of eggs collided with the side of his head, spinning him around wildly for a couple seconds before Shadow caught his arm and brought him to a halt. "I'm okay," Sonic replied weakly while trying to banish the multiple images he was seeing. "Really, I am....."

Shadow shook his head. "Have you forgotten why we're out here? Pay attention to what's going on, for chaos' sake!" He glanced at several rings of his own that were placed along his arms. "Hmm, it would appear that I'm due for a refill."

"Well, then you'd better get some rest." Sonic agreed, shaking his head free of any mental cobwebs and whirling around to face the source of the egg barrages. "Lemme give it a try, 'kay?"

Shadow nodded. "Very well. It's up to you now, Sonic." For a moment the barest hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Don't kill yourself, now; I still want to win a race against you before that happens."

"Ha! You wish!" Sonic started to retort, but the other hedgehog was already gone, dashing off to find more of the golden rings Sonic had obtained. He shook his head and grinned, then took off. 

His body shot forward like a blazing comet, a bright blue aura surrounding it as his speed increased. Ahead of him lay the FinalHazard; a merged form of the Eclipse Cannon and the Biolizard. Its mouth opened in a silent howl, blind eyes sensing the approaching opponent as its head swerved to look in Sonic's direction, tiny limbs flailing wildly. A whitish beam of dense energy stabbed out, but Sonic dodged around it lightning-fast and resumed his course. The beam stopped a few moments later, then fired continuously, swerving up towards him. He shifted a few feet to the right, and it missed again.

"Sonic?" A sultry, almost haughty female voice spoke in his ear. "Can you hear me?"

"Um, I'm kinda busy right now, Rouge." Sonic replied, swerving sharply to dodge the beam again as it circled around, tracking him.

"Yes, I know, I can see you from where we are.....but I just wanted to say that everyone up here is rooting for you."

Sonic blinked and grinned, taking a quick glance over at the windows of the Main Control Deck where he knew the others had gone. "Even Eggman?"

"Like Hell!" A faint voice yelled in the background, causing Sonic's grin to widen.

"Uh, well....okay, ALMOST everybody." Rouge finally answered. "Good luck, though--and give that thing trouble for us!"

"Thanks, and I'll try."

Fifty meters away. His goal was the large, red swelling area on the Biolizard's neck, near the jawline; it was just one of many blisters that had begun to form on the creature without it's life-support system present to suppress them. The Biolizard spasmed--whether from pain, discomfort, or sheer effort, Sonic did not know--then belched out several hard, compact eggs in his direction. These he also dodged, with the same amount of efficiency as before.

Another of the lasers shot out to join the first, both searching for the tiny golden hedgehog hurtling towards them. Thirty meters away.

The rings on Sonic's arm were starting to disappear, one by one, fueling the glowing essence around him that somehow kept him alive without oxygen at absolute-zero temperatures. He glanced down to briefly gauge how many he still had. About twenty-five now remained, although the number was decreasing every second. Twenty meters away. His head snapped back up in time to spot another change come over the FinalHazard. With another silent scream, multiple pores in its grotesque brown body opened to reveal more eggs, which began firing at Sonic from all over. Fifteen meters away.

"Uh oh..." The hedgehog's eyes widened as he suddenly entered an obstacle course of ducking, flipping, turning, banking, and swerving in an effort to avoid the projectiles. But he couldn't dodge them all; one managed to hit him squarely on his leg, spinning him around out of control before he righted himself with a grunt and resumed his forward dive, only slightly knocked off-kilter. Ten meters away.

Sonic gritted his teeth and braced himself as he aimed for the red blister. Five meters away. Three meters. Two. ONE--!

There was a single, eternal moment during which nothing happened, and all those watching waited breathlessly in anticipation. Sonic closed his eyes.

Then--

Impact. He ploughed into the blister but didn't stop; the skin below buckled under the force of an unstoppable object, revealing the insides of the monster. He kept going, punching a clean path through metal, blood, bone, muscle.....if Sonic hadn't been invincible, he would have been smashed to pieces by the pressures that were abruptly exerted on his body.

"Oh, that's SO gross!" Amy squealed over the radio. And although he didn't verbally announce it, Sonic had to agree. Slimy things he preferred to not think about swept past him, along with hard, compact structures that he easily burst through. He knew he was almost out, the Biolizard wasn't THAT thick.....ugh, but he wasn't sure if his lunch would stay down that long....

Finally, he erupted out of FinalHazard's opposite side, leaving a neat, circular hole behind him to accompany the three others that he and Shadow had made in its hide earlier. Opening his eyes again when he could no longer feel anything around him, he glanced again at his ring supply and saw only nine of them left. Without pausing he soared past Shadow, who'd gone the long route around the ARK's opposite side to gather more of the precious golden fuel supply. Shadow didn't bother with greetings, knowing that time was of the essence; but he did nod in approval when he saw the new hole in FinalHazard's body, leaking bodily fluids out into space.

"Hey Shadow," Sonic's voice spoke within his head, faint-sounding due to its source being miles away by that point. "Where do you think he gets all that power from?"

"It's the chaos emeralds." He sent back. "They're probably the only reason that monster is still alive after all this. It's trying to drain them."

"Just like Chaos drained them when he became Perfect!" The vermillion hedgehog exclaimed, horrified. Shadow didn't bother to ask who the heck Chaos was; he simply dove forward while remaining silent, a small pile of rings cradled in his arms.

Shadow locked glares with the FinalHazard's nonexistent eyes. He knew that it recognized him, remembered him from its first awakening thirty years ago. It probably hated him more than any other being on the station, since he'd been the one who'd helped seal it up in the Cannon's Core back then, after it had begun to go out of control. 

This was it, Shadow decided. This would be the killing blow. He sped up until there was nothing left to see of him but a vauge grayish blur careening towards the head of the FinalHazard's reptilian half.

The Biolizard's senses again detected an incoming object. Despite the many wounds in its side, it still stubbornly hung on to life, mustering up the energy for a few more laser beams and egg attacks, all of which were easily dodged.

_Watch me, Maria. _Shadow thought silently. _I will fulfill your wish!_

All of his dormant rage, rage at the humans, rage at losing his friends and home, rage at being locked up and frozen against his will, rage that had lain quiet for thirty long years finally burst free in a scream that was loud enough to send Sonic crashing into an asteroid when he telepathically heard it. In the ARK's Main Bridge, everyone jumped in surprise and clamped their hands down on their ears to shut out the painfully loud sound. Outside, Shadow no longer saw what he was dodging around as he got closer and closer to his target. All that was left was him, and the FinalHazard's head, and the loathing and malice it bore towards him, and he towards it.....

FinalHazard made one last, desperate attempt to fight back; The head swung around towards Shadow as its jaws opened wide to devour him. He didn't bother to move out of the way, but gladly zoomed into the mouth, slamming diagonally up through it and puncturing something sticky and wet before emerging out the back of its skull in an explosion of broken bone, cartilage, and greenish liquids.

Sonic flew up towards him with a new armload of rings as the FinalHazard twitched wildly in its death throes. "Shadow, you did it!" He cheered. "You killed it! You--uh, hey, are you okay?"

For the first time since Sonic had met the solemn hedgehog, Shadow looked extremely close to losing his nerve and becoming sick to his stomach. "I…..I think I got some of _it _on me," He choked, looking at the slimy green fluid covering his body with a nauseated expression.

Sonic looked at the slime and wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Oh, man.....Biolizard brains. Yuck." He began to move over to help Shadow wipe it off, but the silver hedgehog waved him aside. "It's okay." He replied in a strained voice before spinning in place quickly, throwing the fluid off himself in all directions. Sonic yelped and dove out of range, glaring at Shadow angrily when he finished. "Warn me before you do that next time!"

Shadow's expression was just short of open amusement as he floated out of Sonic's reach, idly tossing a golden object up and down in his right hand like one would with a ball. "Sorry."

"HEY! Shadow!" A young male voice spoke up angrily in their radios. "That had better not be what I think it is!"

Sonic blinked as he saw the object being tossed. "What the--! Shadow, how'd you get a Chaos Emerald?? They're supposed to disappear while someone's using them to go Super!"

"WHAT?!" Knuckles bellowed, loudly enough to make both hedgehogs wince. "Why you sneaky, theiving, conniving little jerk, you're worse than the bat girl--OOF!" There was a muted thump, and the faint sounds of a scuffle in the background.

"I wouldn't wager that Rouge took that comment too well." Shadow remarked drily.

"Damn straight!" The fruit bat's voice came on, angry and slightly out of breath. "How the heck did you steal an emerald? Huh??" 

Shadow held up the gem in question so that both Sonic and those at the Control Deck could see it. "Oh, this? It's the fake emerald."

Tails let out a guttural growl, furious beyond words.

"I found it after you guys left for the Core," The silver hedgehog continued as if he hadn't heard anything, "and I've been hanging on to it this whole time."

Sonic gave him a perplexed look. "Why?"

Shadow didn't reply, but looked at the planet below them. Its surface was rapidly drawing closer, details slowly becoming more visible upon the land masses. He switched his gaze back up to the ARK, which was pulling them along in its mini-gravitational field as it continued its dive. Finally, Shadow glanced back at Sonic. 

The yellow, supercharged hedgehog's eyes widened as he understood the silent message. "Oh crap, we're still falling!" 

"Brilliant grasp of the obvious, rodent." Robotnik's gravelly voice chimed in, followed by a snort. "What, you thought destroying the Prototype would stop the station? Don't you know ANYTHING about physics?" Shadow couldn't help but find this question amusing, for some reason. His eyes twinked with mirth as he turned away, covering his mouth.

Sonic smirked. "Actually, yeah. Gravity's gonna be the death of us all, and the ironic thing is that it's the weakest force of nature in existance." Shadow's slightly-amused expression was wiped clear off his face at this comment. He stilled for a couple moments, then began to chuckle, strangely enough. 

Now it was Sonic's turn to stop smiling, as he and those on the station gave the other hedgehog a wide-eyed stare. Shadow was laughing? That settled it--Hell had frozen over. Pigs could fly. Black was white.

"You know, I think I've finally figured out who the Ultimate Lifeform really is." The ebony hedgehog spoke up as he began to fly back up towards the ARK. 

Curious, Sonic looked at his partner as he followed. "But I thought YOU were the Ultimate Lifeform."

Shadow almost smiled. Almost. "Not quite. I think.....it could be you."

It took a couple moments for the implications of this message to sink in; but when it did, Sonic's expression became deeply touched. "Wha--? Shadow.....that's the nicest thing anyone's ever--"

"Forget it." Shadow waved the thanks aside. "Do you want to do something about that painfully ugly meteor above us?"

Sonic blinked, looking up and remembering the ARK. His expression became determined. "Oh yeah, definitely." He growled. "There's no way THAT'S getting through!" He increased his speed, jetting up towards it. Shadow gave his shoes an extra burst of power and followed.

Both of them raced up towards the space station, back to back, shoulder to shoulder. "We gotta do this just right for it to work." Sonic explained. "When I give the word, aim the biggest teleport Skill you can manage up at the ARK, okay? I'm gonna try to synchronize my Chaos Relocate with yours and combine them into a teleport big enough to transfer this whole place back to orbit."

As would be expected, Shadow's mind was a bit skeptical at the idea. "Are you sure that'll work? You're pretty new to Chaos Skills, after all....."

"It's okay, just trust me. I'm more experienced than you think."

Shadow decided it wasn't worth arguing over. "Fine." His thoughts sighed. "It's your funeral." He closed his eyes briefly as a distant memory, nearly forgotten, resurfaced. It was a faint, gentle voice, like the ringing of bells, echoing through his mind. Heavily-labored breathing impeded it, causing huge gaps to form between groups of words.

(Please.....Shadow.....give all of them.....a chance.....to be.....happy.....)

Her last words. The words she'd spoken just before he'd been jettisoned from the station by an automated escape pod, unable to help or do anything. He could feel liquid forming in front of his eyes, and rapidly blinked to clear them._ I will, Maria_, he thought, hoping she could hear him from wherever she'd gone. _I won't let you down--_

"Now, Shadow!" Sonic's voice screamed in his head. He clenched his eyes shut and summoned up as much power as he could while both of them raised their hands toward the station. Simultaneously, they yelled out the same magical words, even as the sound was torn away from them the moment it left their lips:

"CHAOS…..CONTROL!!"

The ARK, an elliptical half-sphere several miles wide in diameter, was enveloped within a massive wave of energy exploding from their hands. It wasn't enough, Shadow thought frantically. It wasn't enough energy to teleport the whole station, it was too small, it wouldn't work--

KRZAP.

Shadow stopped his forward momentum, almost gasping when he looked around himself and found the ARK gone. Hundreds of miles away, a bright explosion of light receded to reveal the station once again placed in a stable orbit over Mobius.

His thoughts were suddenly scattered by the happiest cheer he'd ever heard Sonic emit. "Yah-HOOOO!" The gold hedgehog whooped, flying in loops and laughing his head off. "Shadow, we did it! We saved them all! WE'RE BONAFIDE FRICKIN' HEROES, MAN!!"

Shadow tried to give Sonic a thumbs-up, but found he didn't have the strength to lift his arm. _Oh no,_ He thought with sudden dread. _That Chaos Control.....it used up too much of my energy....._ His eyes strayed downward to the rings in his arms. There were none left.

Shadow could feel the power draining from him, making him feel heavy and slow, like how someone feels after exiting a swimming pool. His Super form was fading without the rings to fuel it. The faint grip of the planet's gravity began to pull on him, and he discovered with increasing dismay that he could no longer resist it.

All of a sudden, there were multiple gasps of shock and horror on the radio. "Shadow!" Rouge cried out.

"Shadow?" Sonic blinked. "What's wrong with him?" He turned about when he didn't get an answer after a few moments, and was just in time to see his former rival fall towards Mobius, unable to fight gravity's pull any more. Sonic's eyes went huge. "Holy--! SHADOW!" He yelled, diving after his friend.

The black hedgehog somehow mustered the strength to open one eye a bit. Everyone up at the station was shouting over his radio link right now, trying to tell him something. What was it? Their yells were drowning each other out, turning into a dull roar.....he listened closely, trying to pick out individual voices. They seemed to be saying that Sonic was coming after him. 

Well, it didn't matter. A calm peace had fallen over him; an odd sort of contentment now that he was certain these would be his final moments. He knew Sonic would never reach him in time. He'd gotten too much of a head start, and was now rapidly picking up speed. He closed his eyes halfway, the glow on his body fading and flickering. "It's too late for me," He said over his telepathic link with Sonic. "I'm out of rings, I'll return to normal any second now. But you've still got a chance to save yourself. Get back to the colony!"

"No way!" Was the immediate, defiant reply. "I'm not gonna abandon you!" 

Sonic tried to summon up a Chaos Relocate teleport and direct it at Shadow like he'd just done with the ARK, but he was unable to concentrate long enough to form one. Amy was pleading with him to stop it and save himself before he died too, Tails and Knuckles were firing random suggestions left and right, Rouge was shrieking demands that Shadow stay alive, and Robotnik was cheering them on like an audience member at a baseball game, hoping both of them would get themselves killed. All in all, it wasn't exactly helping him focus. 

Finally, the gold hedgehog couldn't stand the noise any longer. "SHUT UP!!" Sonic yelled loudly, glad that thinking didn't require too much energy. Most of those watching immediately obeyed, except for Robotnik, who didn't care either way. 

Their bodies were only feet apart, but those few feet might as well have been miles. Sonic knew that Shadow was speaking the truth. He simply couldn't muster enough energy to catch up or teleport them both after spending so much of it on that Chaos Control; his ring supply was already at less than a quarter of what it had been! 

His hand stretched out, desperately struggling to reach Shadow's. Just a little farther.....a little farther.....! 

There! Sonic felt his fingers close around a bracelet on the other hedgehog's wrist. He immediately put on the brakes, struggling to slow them both down. And for a few moments, it seemed like he'd succeed.

But the bracelet had seen too much wear and tear over the past few days. With a faint creaking sound, it snapped open and slipped clean off Shadow's arm. Sonic's reverse momentum backfired, and he was tossed wildly out into space as Shadow resumed his fall.

The gold hedgehog panicked. "NO!" He screamed in his mind, trying and failing to right himself so he could resume his chase. "SHADOW! DON'T DIE! PLEASE!!"

As Sonic wildly tumbled head-over-heels, he managed to lock gazes with Shadow for a couple moments. The black hedgehog gave him a single look, filled with more emotion than Sonic had thought possible for him. 

And in those few seconds of time, Shadow smiled. A true, honest-to-God smile, heartfelt and grateful. It said everything he had wanted to tell the blue hedgehog, but no longer had the time to. It was the first smile he'd made since Maria had died; and now, it would be the last. 

Resigning himself to his fate, he closed his eyes with that peaceful smile still on his face, and sent one final message to his enemy-turned-friend. 

"See you around, Faker."

The glow vanished from his body, and the forcefield protecting him went with it. He fell faster and faster, until he was nothing more than a fireball shrinking admist the blanket of blue-white below.

Sonic couldn't bear to watch his newfound friend burn to ashes; he turned his head away, finally slowing to a hover. His fists and eyes were clenched tight, trying to hold his emotions in check. "No..." His mind choked. "Shadow...!" 

His shoulders shook with supressed sobs, sobs he refused to release. He wouldn't cry. Not here, not now. Shadow wouldn't want it. Slowly, Sonic opened one hand and gazed at the blackened, sooty bracelet nestled in its palm. Despite everything he was doing to restrain it, a tear made its way past his blockades and slid down one cheek. He bowed his head.

Although he didn't really know whether Shadow could still hear him or not, he sent out one last mental message for his departed friend's benefit before disappearing in the light of a teleport.

".....Sayonara.....Shadow the Hedgehog....."

If Sonic had stayed but a moment longer, he would have witnessed a colored flash envelop the rapidly shrinking red dot below, leaving nothing behind.

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What If.....Shadow Survived?  
(Verily, 'tis a Fanfiction by Stoney, it is!)  
  
SARCASTIC LEGAL JUNK: Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog, and all related places and characters are all copyright to some guys you probably haven't heard of. I think they call themselves SEGA and DiC Productions. But do you really care?

**Foreword**

Written by Shadow T. Hedgehog

(Edited by Stonewall Z. T. Cat)

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**"To give a reason for anything is to breed a doubt of it."**

**--William Hazlitt, 1778-1830**

It has been so long since then. 

Remarkable, how time seems to shift and fluctuate within the mind. Minutes can seem like hours, and days can fly by in hundredths of a second. That specific day is still so vivid within my memory, it seems like it took place last night.....

Allow me to introduce myself. You probably know me as 'The Ultimate Lifeform'. Once, long ago, I thought that title meant something. Something important, like an army rank. But now I realize it's nothing more than a name; a few random letters placed side-by-side on a printed page. A few syllables. A few lip movements and twists of the tongue.

Just a name. Nothing more. Pointless, since it doesn't describe me any longer and therefore defies one of the sole reasons that names exist in the first place. But, if I'm not the Ultimate Lifeform.....then what am I? 

Who am I? 

Why am I here?

Maria once told me that God has a plan, and we are living it every day of our lives. If that's the case, then God ought to get a organizer for his schedule, 'cause it sure seems messed up to me. Everything I've done up until now seemed like it had a reason, a higher purpose behind it. The problem is, I'm not so sure what that reason is--or was. Sure, I THOUGHT I knew.....I thought it was revenge, or the quest for knowledge, or to benefit mankind through the advancement of science.

But as soon as I start to believe in these purposes, I always go and do something that contridicts them. It makes no sense: If any of those reasons were truly good ones, then why on Mobius would I act so counterproductively? 

(I usually don't make these kinds of connections until I've already accomplished whatever my mission is and have some time afterwards to sit down and think. I wish I'd make them sooner, though; it would save me a lot of headache.)

Ah, but I ramble. What you are about to read is the story of what I've experienced since that fateful day long ago.....when the most counterproductive of all my actions took place, in what is now known by most as 'The ARK Incident'. It is an interesting story, to say the least. It is the story of how everything that happened since then has, for better or worse, changed me. Now, as I write down these words, I am no longer the being I used to be--which is why my title is so pointless, and why I've begun to understand the meaning behind life's madness.

This is my story.

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**Chapter One: An Extra Life**

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"As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well used brings happy death."

--Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519****

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**Mobius--Orbit**

**July 10, 3236**

**7:33 pm, EMT (Eastern Mobian Time)**

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It began with fire.

  
Blazing, scorching, searing, fire.

  
It flowed around me, vaporizing my fur and burning my bare skin. My arms were held up over my face in a futile effort to protect myself. It did no good, though-- the fire went around my arms like water and flared angrily into my face. It was all I could do not to scream from the pain.

Yet despite this, I felt nothing but a calming inner peace inside me. For once, I was truly satisfied. I had fulfilled her wish. She had not died in vain.

The fire intensified as the air grew thicker around me. I couldn't hear anything except the roar of the wind rushing past, fanning the fire to greater strength. I didn't dare open my eyes, for fear that the fire might damage them. Nonetheless, I could still see the red glare from its flames through my eyelids.

Below me the planet Mobius was spread out like a map; round, blue, and beautiful. Clouds mixed with the blue from the ocean in ways that were totally chaotic yet delightful to look at. But even if I could have seen it, I would have had no time to enjoy the view. I was just a fiery black speck, careening down toward the vast expansse with a dirty gray trail of smoke in my wake.

I clenched the fake emerald tightly in my left hand. When Sonic had come back inside the ship after our battle, the emerald had still been with him. He'd explained rather bewilderedly that the cannon had stopped working just as he'd reached it. We found out later that it was because Eggman had activated Professor Gerald's program with all seven Chaos Emeralds, but at the time everyone was completely in the dark.

That is, until the video started playing.

When Sonic and the others fled for the Cannon's Core, I was left alone in what had once been Maria's room. The room had changed more than anywhere else on the space station: gone was the large fluffy bed and pink teddy bear that Maria used to cuddle when she slept. Gone were the books and toys, the bright colorful wallpaper and the childlike drawings pinned up on the walls. Nothing was left now, nothing except the bare gray walls, and painful memories.

Amy talked to me. She's a pink hedgehog that Sonic had brought with him to the ARK, only to leave her behind when trouble started to rear its ugly head. She unlocked a memory inside me that had been too painful to remember--the memory of Maria's death.

I remembered that she'd made me promise to help the humans. And at that moment, I realized how what I had been doing was wrong. How foolish I had been, to think she'd wanted me to destroy them! That was not like Maria at all. During her life, she had never wanted anybody or anything to get hurt. 

I took the fake emerald from where Sonic had left it in the abandoned lab, and Chaos Controlled to the core. The rest of the events seemed to go by in a blur: Fighting the Biolizard, becoming Super, flying into space to destroy the Prototype's final incarnation. I had held on to the fake emerald the entire time, and now I clenched it tightly with my smoking hands as Hell itself erupted around me.

I began to think about Maria. This IS what she had wanted, wasn't it? My promise had been to save the people on Earth.....and by doing this I had surely done so.

_"Shadow....."_

I can still hear her voice, so gentle, like the chiming of bells. She had such a beautiful voice.....

_"Shadow....."_

I have honored your memory, Maria. Now I can rest in peace.

_"Shadow....."_

A white light appeared from the darkness, and expanded until it filled my vision. A translucent figure appeared in the light, holding out a hand towards me as if beckoning.

"Shadow.....thank you....."

The hand reached out and grasped my own, pulling me towards her. I looked up into her gentle, ocean-blue eyes, and suddenly found the strength to speak.

"Maria.....?"

"I always knew you could save them, Shadow."

"Maria!"

For the third time in my entire life, I felt tears well up in my eyes and threaten to pour out in a rush. I collapsed against her, holding on tight as my entire frame wracked with happy sobs. 

"Maria, it's really you!"

She stroked my quills gently as she held me, speaking soothing words in my ear. After an unknown span of time the tears subsided, and I finally released her. She took my hand in hers and held it gently to her stomach as I wiped away tears from my face with the other. "Maria," I sniffed, "I can't believe it's you! I've waited so long to see you....."

She smiled at me, then her expression turned serious. "Shadow.....I've been sent to tell you.....you must survive. It is not your time yet."

I blinked in confusion, and then it dawned on me what was happening. "Am I dead?"

She shook her head, locks of her blonde hair swinging around. "No. But you are dying. You need to stay alive, Shadow. You mustn't die. Not now."

The tears threatened to come again. "But, Maria.....I want to be with you!"

She smiled at me sadly. "I know. Your time will come someday. But now you must go back." She placed a small kiss on my forehead and squeezed my hands softly. "Don't forget, you must stay alive. The world still has need of you before we can be together again."

She released my hands and began to back away, fading into the light as she did. "Please, Shadow.....do it for me....."

"Maria! Wait!" I tried to run forward to go after her, but she disappeared before I even got close. The light faded away, and suddenly I was back in my freefall to Mobius.

I gripped the emerald in determination. One part of me wanted to break down in grief at having lost her again, but the other part wanted me to fullfill her request. I knew what I had to do.

Concentrating on an image of Mobius's surface in my mind, I gripped the emerald harder. It began to glow, it's aura surrounding me as I called upon it's powers. _I sure hope this works, _I mused quietly._ Maria, don't worry. I will survive.....for you._

The glow grew brighter and brighter, blazing like a minature star. My fingers tingled with the emerald's energy as I yelled out two words to the heavens:

"Chaos.....Control!"

A flash of light, and I was no longer falling. The fire around me ceased to exist. Above Mobius that night, a falling star blinked out of existence long before it should have burned to nothing. And on the surface, another being arrived on what would forever be his new home.

* * *

--------------------

**Never Lake**

**July 10, 3236**

**7:35 pm, CMT (Central Mobian Time)**

--------------------

Clouds rolled overhead, their dark gray underbellies promising rain to come. Far-off thunder bellowed, like a warning call to all those in the storm's path. The sun protested meekly by trying to shine through the interference, but succeeded only minimally as it became covered, blotting out most of the light.

  
The storm travelled across the sky slowly, taking its time. It was in no hurry. Eventually its load of water particles would become heavy enough to drop towards the ground, and then its task would be finished. The vast shadow of the clouds fell across a large lake, blanketing it with moody semi-darkness. They continued their journey, blissfully ignorant of the lone individual that lay near the Lake's southern shore.....  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Pain.  
  
Pain beyond pain.  
  
How could I hurt this much and still be alive?  
  
The burns--they were everywhere. Even the slightest tiny movement provoked a stab of agony to encompass the area. I was dimly aware that I was lying on the ground, curled up into the fetal position. Anything else my senses told me was ignored, though. My thoughts had grown incoherent due to the amount of stress I'd endured, and my mind wasn't working properly.  
  


At least I was out of the fire, though.

  
Something cold and wet hit me on the side of my head, and I involuntarily shivered. For some reason I felt really, really cold. Another drop hit, and then another. Suddenly it seemed like a wall of cold wetness hit me all at once.

  
The shivering became violent as I opened my eyes. My vision was clouded and hazy, but from what I could make out it seemed to be raining. The water felt good on my burns, but it was just a little too cold. My body temperature began to drop rapidly.

  
Instinct kicked in. My will to survive overcame my discomfort as I sat up and looked around for shelter. On my hands and knees, I crawled underneath a nearby tree and collapsed. From somewhere far away I recalled that it wasn't a good idea to get under a tree during a thunderstorm, but at that point I didn't really care. As long as it helped shield me from the freezing rain, I could deal with it.

  
I must've fallen asleep there, because the next thing I knew the storm had passed and the sun was setting. I tried to sit up, and found that it didn't hurt as much as I'd expected. Surprised, I looked down at myself.  
  


What in the world.....?

  
The fake emerald was glowing brightly, just like it had when I used Chaos Control. It's gentle, soothing glow had traveled up my arm to encompass my whole body. As I watched, the last remnants of the burns faded away, leaving nothing to indicate they'd ever been there. When nothing was left of the wounds, the emerald's glow faded out.  
A faint memory hit me full force: The Chaos Emeralds had the power to heal.  
  


Amazing.

  
I gazed at the yellowish emerald with new respect. Sonic's fox friend had made a better replica of a Chaos Emerald than even he had realized.

  
I shivered again, and wrapped my arms around myself in a futile effort to keep warm. Why was I so cold?

  
The answer was so obvious that I nearly smacked myself in the head for my ignorance. Looking down at myself again, I noted how all of my fur had been burned away, leaving nothing but bare pinkish skin. Normally my fur kept me warm, but now I was deprived of it. For a brief moment I wondered just how horrible I would look to someone else right now.

  
I looked around myself, for the first time noticing that I was in a forest bordering a large body of water. As soon as this observation registered, thirst made itself known to me. I felt badly dehydrated after being burned so badly, and decided to head for the water first.

  
I stood to my feet unsteadily and took two steps before falling over. Grunting in surprise, I looked down at my feet. In the place of my hoverskates were two twisted globs of plastic and metal, melted to uselessness.

  
I banged one foot against the ground, trying to shake off the wrecked shoe. It held on tight, as if it had been grafted there. (It possibly could have, with what I'd gone through.) I tried to pry it off with one hand, but I couldn't work my fingers inbetween the wreckage and my foot. Frustrated, I whacked the emerald against it, and then got an idea.

  
I gritted my teeth and concentrated. The emerald began to glow again. This would hurt like heck, but it was the only way I could think of to get my mangled skates off.  
  


"Chaos Spear!"

  
Razor-sharp bolts of green energy lashed out at the melted globs, slicing them neatly open. Pain even more intense than what I'd experienced in the fire suddenly tore through my feet.

  
The sheer force of the blast knocked me back a couple feet, where I writhed on the ground in agony. I'd never had the Chaos Spear used on me before, and now I suddenly understood why it disabled most of my opponents so quickly.

  
It seemed like years later that the pain finally faded to nothing. I lay on my back, staring blankly up at the sky and gasping for breath. I sat up and saw a small crater in the ground a couple feet away, marking the spot where I'd used the Chaos Spear. On either side of the crater were what had once been my hoverskates.

  
I slowly got to my feet, wincing as I stood on their sore soles. I resumed walking toward the water, but not without stumbling several times from the pain in my feet.

  
I started to think as I walked (and stumbled). Why had Maria wanted me to survive? She had mentioned something about the world needing me.....but what did it need me for? What use was I to anyone while I was in this condition?  
  


"Maria," I muttered, "help me. Show me what I need to do."

  
I walked off toward the water, vanishing between the trees. What life had yet in store for me, I did not know. But I had survived like Maria wanted.

  
And right now, that was all that mattered.

A queer rumbling interrupted my thoughts, and I blinked. Looking around in confusion, I couldn't see what could possibly have made the noise. Shrugging, I continued to walk. The rumbling repeated itself, but this time I identified the source. I looked down at my stomach and sighed.

Correction: it was ONE of the things that mattered.

I looked around helplessly. Great. Where was I gonna get some food? I had no idea where I was, or even if anything here was edible. With my luck, the first thing I tried to eat would be poisonous.

Gee, what a lovely thought.

I looked at the emerald again. Maybe I should just teleport around at random until I found a city or something. No, wait, bad idea. I forgot this planet was 70% ocean. The odds were likely that I'd teleport myself into a salty grave. Well, maybe I should use a different Chaos Skill, then. Let's see, what Skills did I know with the yellow emerald? Uh, Relocate, Quick, Boost, See, um.....dang, I wish Sonic's friend had made a replica of the Gray Emerald. I was a lot more familiar with that color. Oh well, work with what ya got.

I raised the emerald above my head, closed my eyes, and concentrated. Hard. "Chaos Control!" I shouted suddenly, my eyes snapping open. Yellowish energy surrounded my feet, which instantly felt a lot lighter and less clumsy than before. I took one step forward, and then I was running. Ah yes, Chaos Quick--the speed booster. Gotta love it. 

I was cruising at speeds that even Sonic would consider fast, and I wasn't even using my skates now. I'd never tried this Skill without them, but now that I was I noticed things about this Skill's effects that I didn't before. Namely, the fact that it lifts the user off the ground on a cushion of air, thereby reducing friction. The upside of this is that I could run without stumbling, because my feet were hardly touching the ground anyway. There was a downside, too, but I couldn't think of it at that moment.....

I noticed a large rock ahead. Yikes, time to slow down. Um, how do you slow down? Oh, wait, I thought I remembered what Sonic always did to brake.....I attempted to imitate his style by leaning backwards on my heels and digging two ruts in the dirt.

Believe me, that's the last time I'll ever try to do anything like Sonic does. My attempt didn't have any effect, and I continued to fly forward. My eyes widened. Damn, now I remember what the downside to Quick is! No brakes!!

So, I chose the only action left to me: I jumped. 

_This will not end well,_ I thought as I tumbled out-of-control through the air, arms and legs waving wildly like an unrestrained pinwheel. _This will not end well at all....._

The top of the boulder soared underneath me.....along with the edge of a cliff.

_.....I hate it when I'm right! _My thoughts screamed.

I look down at the panoramic view of a wide valley bottom, with a dried-up riverbed at its center. My mind started up a triple-C (Chorus of Colorful Curses) when I saw how big the drop was.__

No choice left now; I had to use a random teleport. I concentrated, trying to focus enough to mentally activate the Chaos Relocate Skill while I'm falling. Kinda difficult to do when my heart's going fast enough to break the sound barrier, though.

_Come on, come on, come on....._

"Chaos Control!"

Nothing happened, and I continued to fall. Darn. Okay, just ignore the vertical rock face flying by you on one side, and concentrate. Try again.

"Chaos Control!"

Still nothing, although I thought I heard a small crackle of energy. Out of sheer frustration, I hit the emerald with my free hand a couple times. Dammit, work you lousy synthetic piece of--

KRZAP.

* * *

--------------------

**?????**

**July 10, 3236**

**8:29 p.m. CMT (Central Mobian Time)**

--------------------

Well, this was just typical.

After getting the hell scared out of me by taking a head-first dive over a cliff, I finally managed to get the Fake Emerald to teleport me. And, of course, it deposited me fifteen feet in the air.

Upside-down.

Above a concrete road.

Which is how I woke up hours later with the grandmother of all headaches, several bruises, a shallow gash above my left eye, and a very irritated attitude. Don't ever believe what you see in the books and movies, were people frequently get KO'd and wake back up with nothing more than blurred vision and some swimmy atmospheric special effects. Trust me, when you get knocked out, it HURTS to wake up. It hurts a LOT.

Needless to say, I wasn't exactly thrilled when the first sentient being I saw was (you guessed it) a human. And not even a fully-grown human either, but a little male pup probably no older than twelve. My first impulse was to Chaos Spear the little jerk to ashes. My second impulse was to Chaos Spear the little jerk to ashes, resurrect him as an undead zombie slave, strangle him, and have him toss himself of the cliff where I'd nearly died.

But then I reminded myself that I didn't know the Chaos Skills I needed in order to do that. At least, not with this color Emerald. 

This revelation didn't improve my mood any.

"Hi Mister!" The little brat waved at me, speaking in a sickeningly-cheerful voice. "Wha'chu doin' out 'ere?"

The look I gave in response from where I sat could've withered the skin off a rhinoceros. The kid wasn't even fazed. "You lost or som'thin'?" He asked, full of naive curiosity.

I rolled my eyes. "None of your buisness." I finally muttered. "Scram."

Apparently this guy was too dense to take this not-so-subtle hint for him to leave. He bent over next to me and studied my injuries carefully. "Gee whiz Mister, what happened to YOU? D'jou get mugged or som'thin'?"

I gave him a sharp look. Of all the rude, tactless--! Heck, he sounded like I did when I was that age! And just so you know, that's not a good thing.

"Shut up." I snarled. "Go away. Just leave me alone."

He pointed at the cut above my eye. "You know, you really oughta get that looked at, mister."

I could see the logic in this statement, but I was in no mood to be agreeing with any human spawn at the moment. I slapped his hand away. "No thanks, not interested." 

He continued to hover over me, refusing to give me a moment's peace. Finally I gave him an irritated look. "Don't you have something better to do than bother injured strangers?" I growled.

He grinned. To my infinite disgust, he then sat down beside me and began talking like we were equals. "Well, sure. I could be trying to destroy the world with a big round piece of space junk, like my great-grandpa tried to do. But I'd rather do stuff that's not so homicidal."

I blinked. "Wait.....what did you just say?"

"I'd rather do stuff--"

"No, no, before that. Your great-grandfather tried to destroy the world?"

He nodded slightly, looking down at his feet. "Yeah." He admitted quietly. "Tried to make a big station called ARK hit Mobius. Can you believe that?"

I'm staring openly at him now, a mixed range of emotions ragin within. "What was this great grandfather of yours called?"

"Uh, Gerald, I think." He cocked his head to one side at me. "Why, you heard about him?"

I blink, an odd expression on my face. "I knew him personally."

He arches an eyebrow at me. "Huh? You don't look THAT old."

I cock one corner of my mouth upwards bitterly, looking away and staring at nothing. "Yeah, being frozen for five decades has a way of doing that to you."

His eyes grow wider than dinner plates and he leaps to his feet, face white. "Oh my gosh, I know who you are!" He cries, tugging insistently on my arm. "You're Shadow! Gerald's last creation, the one caught by GUN! Quick, I've gotta show you to Dad, he'll be so happy! He's been wanting to meet you!"

I look up at him. So, this was the latest in the Professor's family line. I've always wondered if he had any other extended family besides Maria and Eggman. I stand up and allow him to lead me down the road, deciding that I might as well relieve my curiosity. "What's your name, kid?"

"Ben! Ben Robotnik!"

I cock that corner of my mouth up again, but this time there is no trace of bitterness in it. "Heh, I always thought that was a weird last name for the Professor to have. Pleased to meet you. Who might this dad of yours be?"

"He's Gerald's grandson, and brother of some mean guy called Ivo who ran away a long time ago and never came back." Ben began to chat amiably with me, walking with me down the road to what looked like a small human settlement in the distance. It turns out that Ben was the son of Maria's parents, who had to stay behind on Mobius when she went up to the ARK. At one point, both his eyebrows shot up in surprise when I continued to ask questions about his family. "What, didn't Auntie Maria tell you all about them?"

I stopped walking, closed my eyes, and bowed my head at the mention of her name.

He kept walking for a few feet before he realized I wasn't following. He turned, and, upon seeing my expression, his eyes widened again. "Oh, sorry." He amended sheepishly. "I shouldn't have brought her up--I forgot for a second about what Dad said happened up there when.....um, you know.....when you got caught."

A few gut-wrenching seconds pass before I can answer. "No, it's okay," I reply without looking up, voice thick with emotion. "You knew Maria?"

"Not really. I've just heard 'bout her from dad, he knew her real well 'cause he was her brother."

I look back up at the distant group of houses and started walking with Ben again, my pace now much more earnest than before. Suddenly, I couldn't wait to meet this man. 

* * *

**Stoney: **Yeah, I know what you're probably thinking: "What's this? Isn't this that Mind Games fic 'For You'?" Well, yes, it WAS.....until I realized exactly how much farther I could take this story. Now it is my second What If fic, coinciding with the events of my first one (What If Sonic and Metal Sonic Switched Places?).

I did this for several reasons.

            1. I was never happy with leaving 'For You' open-ended like it was.

            2. I thought it'd be cool if both What If fics required reading to fully understand their stories, similar to how both the Hero and Dark sides had to be played to          fully understand the events of SA2.

            3. Shadow is such a friggin' fun character to write for. Hey, we all know it's true.

**Stoney:** Needless to say, this decision will make many hopeless fangirls quite happy, and many readers with short attention spans quite sad. But that's life. And stuff.

**Shadow:** I seriously dislike the way you portrayed me. I do NOT get that emotional!

**Stoney:** Where'd you come from?

**Shadow:** Don't change the subject! Why the HECK did you make me act like that?! I swear, if you don't give me a good reason, I'll do to YOU what I wanted to do to Ben when I first saw him.

**Stoney:** (sweatdrops) Er.....artistic license?

**Shadow:** This isn't art.

**Stoney: **Then.....um.....well, the thing is.....(points over Shadow's shoulder) OH MY GOSH WHAT'S THAT BEHIND YOU?! (flees)

**Shadow:** HEY! Get back here!! (runs after Stoney)

And so, the chase begins.....


	2. Chapter 2

What If…Shadow Survived?

A Fanfiction By Stoney, A.K.A. 'The Defenestrator'

Chapter Two: Distant Relations

* * * * *

"One of the oldest human needs is having someone to wonder where you are when you don't come home at night."

--Margaret Mead, 1901-1978

"Anybody who believes that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, flunked geography."

--Robert Byrne, 1930-????

* * * * *

----------------------------------------

**Western Province – Mirlojo Village**

**July 10, 3236**

**8:47 p.m. CMT (Central Mobian Time)**

----------------------------------------

"You just wait 'till ya meet him!" Ben exclaimed proudly. "He's gonna be so happy! We all thought you were dead, ya know."

"Yeah, I'd guessed you would have." I admitted, biting back the boredom I was starting to feel, and the doubts creeping into my mind. What if Ben was lying? What if his dad WASN'T Maria's brother? What if...? I shook my head to clear it, scolding myself for being so pessimistic. I'd find out for myself what was going on in a few minutes, anyway.

Ben led me up a narrow paved street lined with plain wood-and-brick houses, built in the traditional squarish Earthen style. He pointed out one in particular that seemed to be more well-kept than the rest, and guided me up its walk until we stood in front of the door. "This's my house, Dad should be inside. Hang on an' I'll get him!" The young boy opened the door and scampered inside with the kind of speed that only children possess, calling out for his dad the whole way.

I was left alone on a neatly-trimmed lawn in the middle of an unfamiliar settlement, feeling like a dozen pairs of unseen eyes were watching me. I scratched the back of my neck nervously and willed Ben to hurry up.

Presently there was a creak as the door opened. In the shadows of the doorframe stood a man. He stepped forward into the light, allowing me to see his face.

* * * * *

_"Hey, Shadow?"_

_The black hedgehog sat cross-legged on the floor, content to be seated there rather than in a chair. He looked up from the novel he'd been reading, an ancient Echidnaen text on the Chaos Emeralds. "Yes, Maria? What is it?"_

_A pale human girl sat on a large bed nearby with her back facing him, protectively hugging a pink teddy bear to her front. Her delicate feet dangled over the edge of the mattress, as she gazed longingly at a small, framed picture she held in one hand. "Do you..." She paused, and was glad Shadow couldn't see her blush from where he sat. "...do you ever wish you'd had a family? I mean, a normal one...you know, with a mother and a father?"_

_Shadow closed the book and placed it next to himself on the carpet, expression thoughtful. "I've never really thought about it before," He admitted. "I suppose it would be kinda nice, I guess. But I don't think it really matters as long as you and the Professor are around--you're all the family I need."_

_Maria remained silent for several moments, and something that sparkled in the room's light trickled down one cheek. "I wish I had your optimism..."_

_Shadow stood up, concern taking hold when he heard the sad note in her voice. "What's wrong? Maria, are you okay?"_

_She turned to look at him, and he was startled to see numerous tear-streaks marring her otherwise-perfect features. Her eyes were wet and shiny. "Maria?" He gasped, hurrying over to sit next to her. "Why are you crying?"_

_The girl wiped at her eyes in a futile effort to stop the tears, but couldn't. She closed her eyes and bowed her head, looking crestfallen. "I still miss them," She murmured meekly._

_"Who?"_

_"My family..."_

_Shadow noticed the image in the frame that Maria had been holding. It was a photograph depicting a slightly-younger version of herself sitting astride the shoulders of a large, smiling, red-bearded man. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, from what Shadow could tell. Standing next to this man with his arm wrapped around her shoulders was a tall and elegant woman -- her most distinct feature seemed to be the long, flowing blonde hair that careened like a frozen waterfall down to just below her waist. Her belly was round and heavy with unborn child; it was obvious she was in the later stages of pregnancy._

_"That's my mommy, my daddy, and me from a few months ago, when they visited me on my birthday," She explained after looking up to see him eyeing the picture. "They weren't able to stay very long because mommy was still pregnant, and they said that being in outer space wasn't healthy for her..."_

_"Pregnant with whom?" Shadow asked, studying the faces with a mixture of curiosity and wonder._

_"My brothers, Ivo and Ian..." Maria's eyes filled with more tears. "I...I miss them all so much..." Her hands began to tremble as she fought to control her emotions, to not break down in front of Shadow......but the feelings of lonliness and despair were too strong to keep in check. She bit her lip, shoulders shaking, and Shadow placed an arm on her shoulders. Internally, the hedgehog's worries increased, and he felt extremely awkward. What was he supposed to do in this kind of situation? Comfort her, obviously, but how?_

_After a brief pause, Shadow settled on voicing a suggestion Gerald had made to him at one time when he was feeling particularly frustrated with his Chaos Training._

_"It's okay, Maria...just let it out, you'll feel better afterwards," He assured her. His words had a profound effect; like a final crack in the supports of a dam, all of the girl's restraints vanished and allowed her feelings to rush forth. The picture and stuffed animal both fell to the floor as she held her face in her hands and sobbed, wishing more than anything to be back home again. She didn't flinch when two supportive arms encircled her, nor did she make to move away when Shadow held her close. In fact, she did just the opposite, throwing her arms about his neck and clinging to it like it was her only hope for survival. _

_She listened to him whisper comforting words in her ear while she let go of her pent-up anxiety: "Ssh...Maria, it's all right...they're still around, they can come visit you like they did then...it'll be okay...just cry it out, that's it...there you go..." She nodded but said nothing, silently thankful for the comfort that he lent. Despite being relatively young by human standards, the ebony hedgehog could act remarkably mature sometimes--almost as if he'd become fully-grown emotionally while staying in the physical body of a young teenager. Right now, she appreciated that fact more than ever._

_Finally, after a seeming eternity, she managed to calm down and lightly pull away, sniffing and drying her eyes with a shirt sleeve. "T-thank you, Shadow...I-I needed that."_

_"Are you okay now?" He asked, still worried._

_Maria gave a small nod. "I'll...I'll be fine." She bent down and picked the photograph back up, letting out a deep sigh. "You know Shadow, I hope you'll be able to meet my parents someday. They're very nice, you'd like them."_

_"I would?" Shadow blinked. "What about your brothers?"_

_She nodded. "You'd be able to meet them, too. I think they're a couple weeks old by now."_

_Shadow gazed at the floor, withdrawing into thought. "That...would be nice." He fidgeted uncomfortably for a couple moments, than abruptly stood up to head for the room's only entrance and exit. "I've got some Chaos Training to do, now. Shall I meet you back here later?"_

_Maria smiled. "Sure. Oh, and Shadow?"_

_He paused in the middle of closing her door behind himself. "Yes?"_

_"Thanks again."_

_Shadow smiled in return. "You're welcome." He shut the door, and was gone._

* * * * *

I looked steadily at the blonde male that leaned on the doorframe in front of me. He was fairly old by human standards, somewhere in his early-to-mid fifties--as the many wrinkles and laugh lines around his eyes testified. A shoulder-length, tied-back ponytail swung behind him, complimented by the small beard and stubble around his chin. Dressed casually in a short-sleeve polo shirt and blue jeans, he gazed at me with twinkling sky-blue eyes. _They're colored just like Maria's, _I realized with a pang.

"So, you're the Shadow I've heard so much about." The man grinned warmly, sticking out a hand to shake. "I'm Ian Robotnik. Welcome home."

I was admittedly stunned by this statement—welcome home? What did he mean by that?--and stood there for several moments, staring in surprise at Ian and shaking his hand. Finally the human released my arm and stepped aside in a gesture of invitation. "Come on in; we have a lot to talk about."

* * * * *

I blinked. "Uh…wow."

Ian grinned. "Nice, huh?" He closed the door and walked forward. "I bought this house during a post-war economic depression, so it was dirt cheap. Really, it was just lucky chance that I found it."

I trailed behind him, looking at the wealth of miscellaneous objects that adorned the walls. A sunken den took up the room's right half; in there was a couch, several chairs, a large TV, and many shelves of books. A large rectangular dining table was placed in the middle of the room, with multiple chairs arranged around it. The kitchen adjoined the area's right side, and near the back of it was a door leading on further into the house.

"It's bigger than it appears on the outside." I admitted, examining a collection of carved stone arrowheads that had apparently been dug up from somewhere and framed before being hung on the wall as they were. I turned to look at Ian. "You've got good taste."

"Thanks. Come on, I'll show you around the rest of the house if you want."

I trailed behind the human as he led me through door after door, showing me the many far-flung areas of the house. It soon became obvious that Ian had to be at least slightly wealthy to afford it, economic depression or no.

"Ian, what do you do for a living?"

The man stopped in the middle of gesturing towards a bathroom. "What?" He asked.

"Your job. I was just curious."

He frowned, though it didn't seem directed at me. "Government." He answered shortly. "Can't say anything other than that."

"Aw Dad, come on! Give him a break," Ben groaned from the next room over. He walked in and waved at me. "Hi Shadow. Dad's a scientist, but he likes to be reeeeeal secretive 'bout it. Must run in the family, I guess."

Ian gave his kid an irritated expression that looked so exactly like one of Prof. Gerald's annoyed looks, it gave me chills.

"You're a scientist?" I spoke up.

"I can't say anything." He gave Ben a pointed look, silently daring him to disagree.

He did. "Dad, knock off the secrecy already. G.U.N.'s gone; it's not like anybody's gonna shoot you if you talk now."

I went rigid.

G.U.N.?

Ian seemed furious. "Ben…" He growled, voice low. The nephew of Maria, meanwhile, seemed to be getting angrier by the minute.

"For God's sake, Dad, he's _Shadow_! I thought you'd understand that HE of all people deserves to know!" The kid burst out. "You've been moping about it for _years_ now, but here's your chance to make up for it! What are you waiting for??"

Total silence descended upon the area. Not a soul moved.

I took a deep breath, and let it out. Did I really want to know this? Was I about to find out something…horrible?

"What's going on?" I asked.

Ian dropped his head, leaning against the wall with a heavy sigh. "Ben, go to your room."

The kid drew himself up taller. "No way! I'm gonna stay right—"

"**NOW**!" Ian roared, looking angrier than ever. He stood up and marched over to Ben, picked the kid up by his shirt, opened one of the room's entrance doors, and threw him into the hallway beyond before slamming and locking the door shut.

"There we go." He breathed, looking at me while brushing stray hair out of his eyes. I couldn't help but notice he seemed slightly panicked. "Don't mind him, he's always making up stories about me—"

"HEY! LET ME IN!" Ben's muffled voice demanded from the other side of the door, followed by several muted 'thump's as he beat on it with his fists. Ian raised his voice to speak over his son.

"—overactive imagination and all that, you know how kids are—"

"DAD!!" Ben yelled. Ian's voice got louder.

"—the doctor suggested we give him some sort of medication, you know, to help calm him down—"

"OPEN THE DOOR, OR I'LL TELL SHADOW RIGHT NOW!"

Ian froze. "Uh…"

Apparently, he took too long to decide, because Ben began to yell again. "SHADOW, HE WORKED FOR G.U.N. AND HELPED THEM RESEARCH THE—mmmmmmpppphhh!" This last was issued as a muffled cry as Ian hastily unlocked the door and entered the hall. He poked his head back in a few seconds later with Ben tucked tightly under one arm and a hand over the kid's mouth. 

"Sorry, but could you excuse me for one second?" He left before I could answer. Several minutes later, he came back alone. "So sorry about all this, he just gets excited when he meets new people. So anyway, this is the guest bathroom…" He stopped speaking when I glared at him.

"G.U.N.?" I snarled, arms crossed and hands balled into fists. "I can't believe it! I must be hearing things! Tell me it's not true, Ian. Tell me that you didn't join up with the same people who killed your _sister_. Tell me!"

He seemed to shrink before my gaze. At first, he looked like he was trying to form some sort of excuse to justify himself, but apparently nothing came to him. He finally sighed, lowering his head. "Shadow, it was just a job—and besides, I don't work for them anymore. You can't blame the whole organization for something a couple of generals ordered."

"SURE I can! Just WATCH me!" I ranted, waving my fists in the air. "I just can't BELIEVE it! YOU, of all people! What in the Entities' names made you join THEM??"

"Well, at first I thought I could help ruin them from the inside out…" He muttered quietly, staring at the floor.

"THAT'S NO EXCUSE! Why, I oughta—" I stopped suddenly. "Wait. What did you say?"

"My parents waited until I was seventeen before they told me about Gerald, Maria, and the ARK. They claimed they'd kept it a secret so I could handle it better when I did learn. Well, they weren't quite right; I didn't take it very well. I was horrified and outraged that someone had taken my sister from me before I even got the chance to know her."

I felt a sudden bout of sympathy for Ian in that moment, but I buried it under my angry, hurt feelings. I had to remember that I was mad at him. He took a deep, somewhat shaky breath, and continued.

"I wanted to hurt them. Make them pay. And I knew that like most military organizations, the best way to do that was from the inside out. So I joined them. They were happy about it—after all, they'd lost Gerald not too long before and needed a replacement—but I soon found out they were far from stupid when it came to handling potential traitors. I'd planned on blowing the whistle on a few of the more illegal acts G.U.N. had participated in…but nobody trusted me with any major information, and I never managed to make a dent in the group. Most importantly, I learned that not all of them were cold-blooded killers like I'd thought. I eventually realized it was wrong to persecute an entire group for the actions of a select few."

"So you quit." I stated, hoping and praying it was true.

"Yeah. Select few they may be, but they controlled G.U.N., and the organization was still deep in illegal operations. I couldn't just report them outright to the police or media like I'd wanted to, though—thousands of honest, hard-working people who weren't involved in the illegal stuff would lose their jobs if G.U.N. went under."

My anger slowly fizzled out as Ian spoke. I began to understand some of what he was saying, though I fought my best not to as it went against a good chunk of my beliefs. I knew that not all humans were bad, but I'd always thought that every person enrolled in G.U.N. was. Ian was saying different, and I was all too aware of how wrong it would be for me to try and enact vengeance upon the group when innocent people might get hurt as a result. Besides, Maria wouldn't have wanted me to hurt anybody, even those who'd ordered for the ARK to be invaded…damn. So they were just going to go unpunished? It didn't seem right, but neither did any of the other choices I had.

Now I know why people rarely look at the big picture. Knowledge of a situation is paralyzing.

I decided to switch my line of thought to something else. Okay, so Ian was better than I'd thought. He wasn't a traitor. That's good. And he'd quit of his own free will. That's even better. I was a bit skeptical about his description of G.U.N., though—the day of the ARK's invasion, all the soldiers I saw wearing their uniforms sure seemed heartless to me. But then again, my memories could be twisted around from my personal opinions and Maria's death. Who was to say what those men really thought and acted like at the time?

Dammit, now I was back where I'd started.

I let out a sigh. "How long ago was this?"

"Five years to the day, next month."

I stayed silent. He looked up, changing the topic to something less depressing. "Hey, uh…do you still, you know, want the tour of the house?"

I slowly nodded. I could live with this knowledge. Hopefully. "Yeah. Uh…what did Ben mean by you moping about it?"

"I joined the organization that single-handedly killed my family. Of course I felt guilty."

I didn't feel completely satisfied with this answer, but decided to let it slide for now. After all, I'd only just met the guy. Who was I to try and read his emotions so soon before getting to know him? He might be completely different from what I think he's like… "So who are you working for now?"

He turned to give me a secretive half-smile. "Government."

I snorted at him. "Still can't talk about it?"

"Nope!"

"Okay, then answer me this: is it in any way, shape, or form related to G.U.N.?"

"That'd be a big negative. It's federal government, not military."

"Fine. Let's just keep going. Which part of the house is this?"

* * * * *

It took a while (or so it seemed to me, at least) to get through every room; my first assumption was right, Ian's abode was huge. At one point I considered calling it a 'mansion' instead of a 'house', since it certainly fit the part. Then I decided it wasn't so, as mansions generally had several floors with dozens and dozens of rooms each; Ian's home was just two stories tall, and there were only around twenty to twenty-five rooms total inside it. Eventually we'd entered and exited every nook and cranny that could be found, with the exception of one.

"And this, is Maria's room." Ian finished, opening a door. Before it had even opened all the way, I'd sucked in a sharp breath at the name.

"What--?"

Ian blinked, then looked sheepish. "Oh, I forgot to mention her, didn't I? She's my daughter. I named her after my sister, Maria Senior, whom you knew way-back-when. She's still young, 'round five if I'm not mistaken." He scratched his head uneasily and dropped his voice to a whisper. "At times, I've gotta admit that there's something a bit…odd about her. She doesn't act like other kids her age, but she reminds me of Sis a whole lot. Maybe too much, actually…"

I was barely listening. Among a room of bright, cheerful colors and fluffy materials sat a lone human girl, tiny and delicate. A river of gold tumbled down her back, covering the one-piece blue flannel pajamas she wore. She appeared not to have noticed our arrival.

I walked into the room without knowing I was moving, eyes transfixed upon the small figure sitting on the floor in front of me. The child was playing with several wooden building blocks, each of which had been delicately carved with a letter of the New Mobian alphabet. My breath caught in my throat when the child turned to look at me, because in front of her were stacked three letters; A, R, and K.

"ARK." I exhaled, voice a whisper.

She peered curiously up at me, and I found himself unwillingly returning the gaze. Though small, she was the splitting image of the Maria I'd known—right down to the two forelocks that were parted in the middle of her forehead. Her baby blue eyes were very bright with some sort of hidden intelligence.

"Hello." She chirped. A sound somewhere between a gasp and a surprised yelp was her only reply: though slightly higher-pitched and younger-sounding, her voice was the same one I'd known all those years ago. After a pause, she pointed at me and asked, "You're Shadow, aren't you?"

I tried to reply. Chaos and Order so help me, I tried. But speech was impossible. My mouth moved soundlessly for several moments as a heavy feeling rose up from within, strangling my chest, making breathing difficult. Dizziness overcame me. I closed my eyes and turned away, gasping for air and swaying. Luckily Ian recognized the warning signs; he rushed into the room in time to catch me as the world spun and went dark, leaving me collapsed on the spot.

* * * * *

The first words that came to my mind after regaining consciousness were pretty eloquent ones, considering my state of mind at the time.

_Ow_, I thought._ That hurts._

I groaned. The world's largest convention of bathtubs had decided it would be a grand idea to go tap-dancing inside my brain. They were currently hammering out a fancy little number, making my skull throb with the kind of dull agony that only comes from repeatedly slamming one's forehead into a blunt object.

The air became several microscopic knives that stabbed into my eyes when I opened them. I squinted, wincing from the pain. 

"Ow! Chaos, that REALLY hurts."

A head popped into my field of vision, blotting most of the light out. "You okay?" The little Maria girl asked. It took me a couple moments to realize she must've been sitting beside my bed while I was out, and then it took even longer to think of something to say in response. But before I could speak up, she put a hand to my forehead. 

"Daddy says you've got a bit of a fever," she reported matter-of-factly. "He said you'll probably be in bed until tomorrow."

My reaction was completely unexpected to the both of us. As soon as I felt the delicate sensation of the girl's fingers on my fur, emotion welled up in me and just burst out. "Maria," I whispered, face scrunched up from the effort of not breaking down into hysterics, "it really _is _you in there…isn't it?"

The girl's eyes softened. Looking up into them, I suddenly felt numb. I was unable to do anything but stare—my limbs seemed paralyzed all of a sudden. Thank you, arms and legs, for abandoning me in my time of need. And here I'd been, thinking all my body parts were supposed to be on my side. Silly me.

The moment passed, luckily, and the girl turned her head away. Her expression seemed oddly pained for some reason. "I…um…" She seemed about to say something big, but changed her mind and stood up to walk out of the door to my room. "…get some rest, okay?"

"But, wait-!" I called out. It was too late, the door had just shut behind her. I let my outstretched hand drop back to the bed with a sigh. "What's going on…?"

* * * * *


	3. Chapter 3

What If…Shadow Survived?

A Fanfiction by the undeniable, indescribable, certifiable Stoney Z. Cat

Chapter 3:

Fake

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**ARK**

**The Past**

**6:23 p.m. EMT (Eastern Mobian Time)**

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_Shadow let out a weak cough and struggled to stand. He'd been blown clear across the massive storage area on the ARK that had been converted into a practice room of sorts for his Chaos Training. He slowly staggered, covered completely in dark gray soot, making his way over to where a short, bald man with a huge gray moustache stood, shaking his head from side to side._

_The man sighed, adjusting his eyeglasses as they slipped down his nose. "Shadow, Shadow, Shadow…how many times have I told you? You're supposed to hold the emerald with the conical base facing DOWN, not UP!"_

_The ebony hedgehog looked over to the large, circular blast mark that marred the room's otherwise perfectly smooth flooring -- that spot was where he had been standing around five seconds ago. Sitting in the middle of the mark was the Gray Chaos Emerald, silently accusing him of his failure. He altered his staring to gaze at his hoverskates instead. "Sorry, Doctor." He mumbled._

_Professor Gerald Robotnik continued his ridicule. "And your stance was all wrong, too! The feet must be planted AT LEAST eleven inches apart, but you insist on putting them within six inches of each other. Also, you need to use both hands when you hold the emerald. One-handed Chaos Controlling is an extremely advanced technique that you're not ready for yet." To any other person, this criticism might have sounded like needless nit-picking. But Shadow was aware of how delicate a process it was to successfully activate a Chaos Technique. Doing so required the utmost precision; the slightest miscalculation could result in a disaster like this one._

_The Doctor turned away in complete disgust. "Honestly!" He spat. "How could you ever possibly hope to meet our expectations when you can't even get the simplest of instructions down??" He sighed. "And here I'd been, thinking you could actually make something of yourself."_

_Shadow silently clenched his fists. Hearing the tone of voice that the Professor was using awoke a fire within him: a determination to show him he wasn't a failure after all. You just wait, he thought. I'll become the best there is and prove you all wrong!_

_A door opened behind Gerald, and a small girl walked in. "Grandpa?" She called out._

_The Professor turned. "Ah, Maria!" He exclaimed in a much more pleasant tone than before. "How are you doing? Did you enjoy the new videos we received? Your parents sent you them straight from Mobius, saying you'd like them."_

_The girl hesitated, glancing at the small, dirty hedgehog next to the Professor. "Well, actually…I was hoping to watch them with Shadow."_

_The Doctor grimaced, as if reminded of a particularly unpleasant smell. "Oh…yes…I see." He muttered, casting a brief, disdainful look at the hedgehog in question. "I take it that's why you're here?" _

_The little girl nodded. He waved a hand in Shadow's direction. "Well, I suppose it'd be all right. We've finished all we're going to accomplish today, anyway." The mocking that was barely concealed within this statement did not pass unnoticed by Shadow. He managed to restrain himself, however, giving no reply except for a tightening of his jaw. _

_Happily, the girl abandoned all shyness and practically skipped up to the ebony hedgehog. "C'mon!" She smiled. "I can't wait!" She grabbed his hand, but then pulled hers away, looking at the soot that had rubbed off onto it. "Er…maybe we should get you cleaned up first, though."_

_Shadow smiled, inspecting himself. "Yeah. I look even darker than I normally do."_

_The professor waved them away. "Have a good time." Somehow, Shadow could tell that this statement had been directed at Maria alone._

_Speaking of whom, Maria let out a small giggle once they'd left the Training Room and began walking. "You actually look pretty funny—the only thing I can see about you is your eyes. Everything else is black."_

_Shadow gave a rueful smile and clasped his hands behind his head. "Gosh, you should've been there today. I would've been a sight to see, messing up like that."_

"_What DID you do, anyway?"_

_Shadow smirked. "I held the emerald upside-down." _

_Maria laughed, and soon enough he found himself laughing with her. It did seem kinda funny, now that he was no longer under Gerald's angry glare. He felt less and less like a failure with each passing second he was in her company, and silently thanked whatever gods existed that she'd come to get him when she did._

"_Thanks, Maria." He sighed. "I'm glad you're here, at least."_

"_Hey, someone has to look out for you."_

_He cocked his head slightly as he listened to her talk. "You know…you're sounding a lot better these days."_

_She nodded. "Yeah, they're trying out an advanced new procedure on me. It's still experimental, but it seems to be working. I'm a lot less tired these days, and can do a lot more." She gave a little twirl for demonstration. "They said that if things keep improving like they have, I might actually be able to leave here and go back to Mobius!"_

_Unseen to Maria, Shadow's expression became downcast. He brightened it, though, putting on a mask of happiness so she couldn't discern his true feelings. "That's great!" He congratulated her in a tone of false cheer. "I'm happy for you."_

"_Thanks!"_

_Silence filled the space of the next few minutes, as they traversed the many interconnecting corridors of the ARK. "So…" Shadow began. "…what are these videos I heard you talking about?"_

"_Well, my parents sent me some G-rated films that you wouldn't be interested in, so I managed to grab a few of the newer, better tapes from the recreational area." They exchanged a smirk as she continued. "Mom and Dad never do let me watch any of the really good stuff. They think I'll get 'corrupted' by it."_

_Her gave her a playful nudge. "Who knows? Maybe you are!"_

_She rolled her eyes. "Oh, sure! Just like I'm being corrupted by my video games, right? I'm just going to go grab an Uzi and take out the next crowd of pedestrians that walks by, am I?"_

"_No, you wouldn't be able to lift a gun like that. You'd probably use a handgun; you know, something lightweight."_

_She bonked him on the head. "Hey! You're supposed to be on my side!"_

_Her grin was infectious, and spread to him even as he rubbed his head where her fist had impacted. "What would you expect?" He asked, slipping into his 'too-cool-for-you' mode. "I'm the Ultimate Lifeform; I don't need to take sides."_

"_No. But you DO need to take a shower." She chided, pointing to the nearby bathrooms. "Now scoot…before I make you."_

_Shadow snickered as he walked into the bathrooms. "Oh, terror and horror. Maria's gonna use force against me. Woe is my wretched soul." He declared, voice deadpan._

"_Hey!"_

_Shadow slammed the door shut and locked it before she could bonk him again, his muffled laughter audible to the girl's ears. "Ooh, I'll get you!" She threatened, struggling to keep her own mirth in check. "You can't stay in there forever!"_

"_I can darn well try!"_

_The girl sighed with a wry smile. "Fine, be that way. I'll be waiting for you in my room when you get done showering, okay?"_

"_Okay."_

_

* * *

_

_----------------------------------------_

**Western Province – Mirlojo Village**

**July 11, 3236**

**12:28 p.m. CMT (Central Mobian Time)**

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"HEY SHADOW, GET UP!" A booming voice yelled, punctuated with two pounding knocks on the door. The reaction was equivalent to that of screaming through a bullhorn at an ant - I rolled over and curled up, wondering through the ringing in my ears if I'd ever be able to hear properly again.

Why couldn't they leave me alone? It was too warm and comfy here in bed for me to get up now...

"C'mon Shadow. The med-scanner said you're fine, and it's way past time for you to get up. I'm not going to ask you again."

Good, I thought irritably. That'll make things easier.

The rattling of metal on metal. A door opening. Footsteps, getting louder. "Shadow!" A voice yelled, closer than before.

"Mmf...leemelone..." I mumbled, only semi-coherent. A strong pair of hands suddenly grabbed my covers and pulled, yanking them off. I cried out as a roomful of chilly air went through my fur like it wasn't even there—which only made sense, because it was true—and biting directly into my skin. In a move of desperation, I darted my hand out to blindly grab a retreating corner of the blanket before it left my reach.

"Get up!" An angry male voice growled, tugging harder on the blanket.

"No!" I wailed, pulling back with all my half-awake strength. "I'm tired! Let me sleep!"

"You've been sleeping for most of the day already! GET UP NOW!" My strength failed me, and the cover slipped from my fingers. I sighed in defeat and rolled over, rubbing bits and pieces of crud from my eyes. Blinking sleepily, I wondered what time it was. I looked up at a digital alarm clock beside my bed; it read 12:30. I did a double-take. "Chaos and Order," I swore. "It is late."

"Told you," Ian chuckled, folding the blanket and setting it aside to be washed later. "Watch your mouth, though; there's children nearby."

"Sorry…"

"They didn't let you sleep in like this on the ARK, did they?"

I let out a small chuckle. "Unfortunately, even Ultimate Lifeforms need their rest. Besides, there wasn't any sense of time up there." I yawned, finally sitting up. Normally I would have scowled and told Ian off for waking me so rudely, but for some reason I didn't feel very irritable today. In fact, I felt happier than he had in a long time—like some sort of empty hole within had been filled. It was so odd that I had to comment on it.

"Wow, I feel great."

Ian finished his folding and ran a hand through his wavy golden hair. "I'd imagine you would be, after last night. Admitting emotions is always the first step towards healing."

I side-eyed him. "What're you talking about?"

Ian snorted and rolled his eyes. "Shadow, please don't pull that denial crap with me."

"What?"

Ian leaned over so he was staring directly into my eyes. "Look, I know what happened to you last night when you met my little Maria, okay? You let go of the guilt, depression, and other unhappy emotions you've been carrying ever since my sister's passing. You shouldn't feel ashamed, it's a good thing."

My eyes narrowed from surprise. "Are you a psychologist or something?"

Ian snorted again, straightening up. "Hardly, but I've got a better grasp of feelings than you no doubt do 'cause I've been around longer." He shrugged.

I surprised myself by smiling, something I hadn't figured I was still capable of. "Actually, that's not true. I was around before you were born; so technically, I'm older than you are."

"Yeah, but who's got more experience?" Ian pointed out. I conceded the argument and stood up, feeling my joints pop as I stretched them. Ian arched an eyebrow as I let my arms fall limp with a sigh.

"Better?"

"Much." I placed a hand on my stomach. "Gosh, I'm hungry." As if to prove this, my innards gave a timely growl. Ian had to fight back a laugh as he motioned for me to follow him out of the room.

"Well, lunch is almost done, so you'll just have to wait until then." The human said as we walked. "I take it you saw where the kitchen is on your tour last night?"

I scratched behind one ear. "Uh, yes, I think so. Give me a few minutes to remember, I'm still trying to wake up."

Ian shook his head. "It's funny, really. Even if you're supposed to be older than me, you still look and act like a teenager."

"Go figure." I grunted, pulling up short when I saw a gleam of white porcelain on a toilet bowl in one room we passed. Suddenly, my bladder made its presence known to me. "Could you wait a second, Ian? I've got to make a pit stop."

* * *

Years later I'd reflect upon my first meal with the Robotniks, and would chuckle at the sheer awkwardness of it. I'd never eaten in such a large group before; it had usually been either me by myself, or only with Maria in the past. The practical reason for this was that I was, and still am, terrible at casual conversation. I never know what to say when trapped in a room with others for any great length of time, and always become flustered at their attempts to make me speak up. 

Such was the case as my newfound 'family' and I gathered around the large rectangular dining table, scrumptious combinations of soup, salad, sandwiches and juice laid out before us. Later I'd ask who cooked the meals, but no answer would be forthcoming; Ian would smile, Ben would snicker, and Maria Jr. would just stay silent and expressionless as usual.

I glanced around out of curiosity. Nobody had begun eating yet, but Ben had just finished saying 'grace'. From what I could perceive, it was a ritual where all gathered bowed their heads and closed their eyes while one person vocally expressed their thanks to the gods (or God, as Ian's family believed) that gave them the food to eat. I found it fascinating, and watched closely as the little boy expressed his gratefulness in a short, crude, but heartfelt prayer.

"Amen." Ian and Maria muttered, placing their right hand on their forehead, their stomach, then each of their shoulders in sequence. I blinked in outright confusion, wondering what the gesture's significance was. I couldn't remember Professor Gerald mentioning anything about that while explaining the concepts of human religion to me.

Ian looked up and noticed my confusion. "Don't worry about it," He reassured me. "It's just 'another silly human belief', as Gerald would say." He began to neatly unfold a napkin into his lap, as did Maria and Ben. Desperate to fit in at this point, I fumbled with mine before doing the same.

As if a switch had been flipped, Ben and Ian dove into their meal with gusto, gobbling up the food like a couple of vacuum cleaners. Maria was a sharp contrast, as she sat quietly, eating small bites and generally remaining as composed as one could be. I looked back and forth between them, before glancing down at my own food. I delicately picked up a fork and jabbed one of the edibles, lifting it up to take a deep sniff. It didn't seem poisonous or anything. I shrugged, and placed it in my mouth.

Ian watched with amusement as my eyes lit up. "This…this is quite good," I suddenly remarked, barely managing to chew and swallow in time before I'd crammed another forkful in my mouth. Soon enough, I'd become oblivious to those around me as extreme hunger overtook my senses. I'd forgotten just how much I'd been starving before now—it seemed like I hadn't had a decent meal in years. Soon I was eating more rapidly than Ian and Ben were.

At one point, I looked up momentarily to find Maria staring at me. The girl immediately averted her gaze, but it was too late; I'd seen her. I actually paused my eating, which is saying something considering the blistering pace I'd set up 'till then.

What had that been all about?

A few seconds later, Maria glanced back up at me and gave a small smile. Uncertain, I finally gave one in return and went back to eating, occasionally sending the girl a puzzled glance.

Finally, after what seemed far too short a time to my famished body, all the food was gone.

"Ahh!" Ian let out an enthusiastic sigh as he wiped his mouth with the napkin that had been in his lap. "Quite good, as usual." He leaned forward, clasping his hands together and placing his elbows on the table. When next he spoke, it was directly to me. "Now normally, this would be the point in the day when we'd all go out and do some sort of family activity together. However, since we don't really know that much about you and vice versa, I thought we could instead take this time to learn more about one another."

I swallowed heavily. It was with some trepidation that I finally asked, "So…what are we going to do?"

"Just talk, that's all. I've heard a lot about you from the news, of course, but we both know how misleading the media can be at times. Since you're here, I was hoping to get an explanation for the ARK incident straight from the horse's mouth, in a manner of speaking."

Crap, this was exactly what I'd been hoping to avoid in the course of my stay here. If I was going to make sense while telling this story in particular, I would first need to tell them my origins - which I hated explaining to other people. What was the point? They wouldn't understand me. Nobody has ever understood me except for Maria, and she's dead…

But these people are closely related to her, a small voice in my head reminded me. They might understand you if you give them a chance. I allowed myself the slightest amount of relaxation. That was true, and they seemed nicer than Gerald had been…maybe I could trust them with my emotions?

"Shadow?" Ian asked. I hesitated, looked at each of the humans in turn, and paused when I came to Maria Jr. Then I made my decision.

"Sure, I can talk about that." I reassured them. "Let's see…the ARK Incident, hmm? Well, in order to fully understand it, I'll need to tell you a bit of history about myself…"

I began to spin a tale of loss, grief, and revenge; starting with the attack on the ARK 50 years prior, continuing through my reawakening, my newfound plans for vengeance, and finally ending with the climactic battle with the FinalHazard that stopped the ARK from giving Mobius a nice, attractive new impact crater in its side.

I couldn't help but send several glances Little Maria's way as I spoke. She seemed oddly subdued, staring silently at some spot on the napkin still in her lap. Again, I found myself wondering about her. Was she really the Maria I'd known? I found the topic believable; especially since the two of them looked so similar. But still, some logic-based portion of my mind balked at the very concept. Weren't spirits supposed to go to Heaven or somewhere after their bodies died? So how could Maria's still be here, and in a physical body no less? Was human religion flawed?

"Shadow! Hey, Shadow! Are you okay?"

I blinked, suddenly realizing I'd spaced out in the middle of a sentence. "Uh, sorry." I gave an apologetic smile. "It's just…so much has happened in such a short amount of time. Two days ago I was fighting for my life in outer space…"

Ian nodded. "Yeah, I hear ya. It's pretty overwhelming to me, too; especially since I'm related to the guys behind it all. Did you know that the three of us have been getting recent death threats from people we don't even know?"

"No!" I exclaimed, horrified.

"Yup. People assume we're the exact same as my brother Ivo and grandpa Gerald because we're related, so they hate us for it."

"That's…horrible." I couldn't think of any other word to describe it.

Ian shrugged. "Eh, doesn't bother me that much. They're just ignoramuses who're mad that they couldn't do anything to save themselves when crunch time came."

Ben rolled his eyes and gave an impatient sound, glaring at his father in a manner that clearly asked why he had to be here for this discussion. Ian glared back with a look that said, 'Because I said so.' Ben scowled. He was unable to counter this Universal Logic of Parents, one that never ceased to annoy kids everywhere.

But the kid had an advantage Ian didn't know about, being that I, too, was likewise eager for the conversation to be over. "Um…so, is that all?"

Ian glanced up. "Is what all?"

"Is that all we're going to talk about? I'd like to be on my way if there's nothing else--"

"What was it like up there?"

I halted mid-sentence, shifting my gaze to Little Maria. She sat quietly with her eyes on her lap, not looking up at me as she softly repeated her question. "On the ARK. What was it like?"

I didn't reply for several moments. "Um…well, it was…different."

Ian grinned. "Well, that's great. We might have had a hard time talking if you hadn't been so elaborate."

I gave him an odd look, and the human's grin faltered. "It's called sarcasm, Shadow."

Now I felt miffed. "I know what it's called. You just didn't strike me as the sarcastic type."

Ben muffled a laugh that somehow still managed to make itself audible. Ian glared at him again as I watched Maria carefully. "The ARK was nice enough, I suppose. But it seemed…well, cold. Not temperature-wise, but more like…" My face scrunched up with the effort of trying to voice the feelings behind my memories. "…more like it was uncaring. Hard. Dead. At times, it almost felt like the metal everything was made out of up there was smothering the life out of me. I often wished to be down here on the planet, surrounded by nature and life."

"That'd be instinctual." Ian chimed in. "Most Mobians tend to have a natural affinity for a biological environment."

I grew annoyed, and it showed. "May I continue?"

Ian smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Thank you. Anyway, one thing in particular managed to always make my stay on the station enjoyable, despite the harsh surroundings."

Maria finally spoke up after several seconds of silence. "…What?"

I looked squarely at her. "Your namesake."

Ian arched an eyebrow, but didn't comment. Ben, on the other hand, suddenly perked up in interest. "What, you mean Auntie Maria? Why? What was she like?" Ian quickly shushed him, but the questions had already been asked.

"Heh." I let the smallest of chuckles escape, reflecting inwardly for a few moments as I closed my eyes. "You'd have liked her. She was…kind. Always caring about others, even if she refrained from showing it at times. She constantly helped out, while asking for nothing in return except the comfort of another person's company."

I opened my eyes, knowing as I did that they probably looked unfocused and distant; tinged with sadness and remorse. "I never did get the chance to tell her how grateful I was, for how she treated me as more than just another science experiment. The scientists and Professor Gerald viewed me in a calculating, emotionless way…but she saw me with love." It never occurred to me that I was now voicing some of my deepest feelings and opinions on the closest person in my life. In fact, if truth be told, I wasn't even aware of my words, so caught up in reflection was I.

"She always seemed to exude an air of peace…I never got too emotionally worked up, as long as she was nearby. Her eyes…" I suddenly seemed to come back to reality for a second as I shot a glance in the eldest Robotnik's direction. "…they were just like yours, Ian. Gentle, like a cloudless blue sky in daytime…" I trailed off, staring blankly at my plate.

Silence reigned supreme for one minute, then two.

"I still miss her," I finally sighed, then slowly looked up. My eyes narrowed, a clear sign I was thinking hard about something. "Of course, if you really want a detailed observation of her nature, Ben, then you need look no farther than your sister."

Ben stared at little Maria with an alienated expression, like he'd just found out she wasn't actually human. His eyes were wide in the typical gawking fashion that so many adopt when viewing, say, a car crash. The girl sat quietly under the assault, fidgeting uncomfortably.

Ian gave a small laugh. "Yeah, talk about an ironic coincidence."

Shadow arched an eyebrow. "Is that all you think it is?"

Now it was Ian's turn to feel uneasy, as the laughter died on his lips and he shrugged. When he answered, his voice held a hint of uncertainty in it. "Well, yeah. What else could it be?"

Maria hopped out of her seat abruptly, mumbled something about being full, and quickly left the scene. "Whoah, honey, wait a second--!" Ian called out, too late to stop the child's escape. He sighed. "Now, what's wrong with her all of a sudden?"

I stared at the door Maria had exited through. "Where is her mother?" I asked.

Ian seemed to become withdrawn, his expression darkening. "That would be my wife, Lana. She's…" He hesitated a moment. "…gone. She's gone."

"Where'd she go?"

He answered my question without words, just giving me a single, slightly pained look. I bowed my head, realizing his meaning.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's been a while since I talked about it, and it wasn't your fault." Ian stood up, stretching his arms above his head. "I think that's enough talking for now. I'm starting to get sore from sitting here so long," He grinned. "Besides, it's getting on into the afternoon and I'd still like to take you guys out to the movies today."

Ben suddenly came to life. "REALLY??" He asked with a look of pure hope at his dad, the previous conversation forgotten.

Ian laughed, mussing up the rusty brown hair on his son's head. "Sure!"

I let out an uneasy sigh, feeling troubled by Maria's abrupt departure. Finally I shook my head, casting off the dark, foreboding thoughts in my mind. Why should I be pessimistic? Maybe things wouldn't turn out as bad as I'd thought.

_

* * *

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**Western Province – Milojo Village **

**October 30, 3236**

**3:36 p.m. CMT (Central Mobian Time)**

----------------------------------------

"What is going on?!" I exclaimed, utterly confused. "Why are you dressed up in such odd clothing?"

"What, haven't you ever heard of Halloween before?" Ian exclaimed, checking himself out in a mirror.

"Hallee-what?"

"Halloween. Formerly All Hallows Eve. I read up about it in Earth History class when I was in college." He turned to present himself to me. "How do I look?"

"Um…" Words failed me as I stared at him. Ian was dressed in an oddly familiar outfit, but I couldn't put my finger on why…

He turned to look in the mirror again and blinked. "Oh, whoops, I forgot something." He grinned, sticking a massive moustache on his face. Then he turned back to me. "How about now?"

A smile slowly crept onto my face, and I began to chuckle. Then the chuckle grew into an all-out laugh. A swimming cap had been colored the same hue as Ian's skin and placed over his hair, making him appear bald. A pair of round mirror-glasses were perched on a fake nose, and a red jacket had been placed on top of a black pair of pants on his torso. Now that he'd attached a orange moustache to the nose, the entire ensemble seemed to come together.

Ian was dressed up in the splitting image of Eggman!

My mirth finally subsided, and I grinned. "I don't know, isn't your brother a bit, oh, ROUNDER than you are?"

"Well, I was planning on stuffing something underneath the shirt tomorrow night to fix that. But do I look like him, otherwise?"

"Absolutely. You might wanna stay indoors to avoid a lynch mob while you're dressed like that, though."

"Not tomorrow night. On Halloween everybody gets dressed up in costumes and goes around the neighborhood door-to-door, ringing doorbells and getting candy from whoever's home at the time. It's a tradition usually aimed at little kids, but the parents can join in if they're escorting some of the youngsters."

"So who stays home, if you're gonna go out with Ben and Little Maria?"

He grinned in an impish way that made me suddenly feel apprehensive, and his costume just amplified the effect. "Oh, I won't be the one escorting those two this year, Shadow." Uh-oh. I could see where this was heading. "You are."

Crap. "What??"

"Yeah. So you'd better get a costume ready. I was thinking that since you look so much like him already, we could dress you up like Sonic. All we'd have to do is dye your fur blue…"

My face twisted into one huge frown. I folded my arms. "NO. No, no, no. No way in the universe. I don't care what tradition you're talking about, I am NOT gonna make myself look like that Faker! And escorting the kids?? Ian, you're nuts."

He arched an eyebrow, shrugging. "Fine, okay. You can go tell Maria that all her hopes and dreams of getting sweets this year will be crushed by your stubbornness. Go ahead, I won't stop you."

Rats, he's got me cornered. Maria is a weak point of mine, and he knows it.

I must've looked hesitant, because he grinned again. "I've got some old red sneakers we can use, too. You could glue white belt buckles onto them, and presto—instant Blue Blur."

I shook my head. "Sorry Ian, but I can't run without my hoverskates."

"You won't need to run. You'll be walking the whole time."

I tried to voice several more arguments, but he reasoned his way out of every one. Finally I scowled, threw my hands up into the air, and stomped out of the room. "Fine!" I yelled. "I'll do it, all right?? But somebody owes me BIG for this!!"

Damn it, how do I get myself into these messes…?

_

* * *

_

_----------------------------------------_

**Western Province – Milojo Village **

**October 31, 3236**

**6:39 CMT (Central Mobian Time)**

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I glared angrily at my reflection in the mirror.

Blue. All blue.

That dye had better come off after tonight, my thoughts growled. Ian had provided some special hair-gel to slick back my quills with so they looked more like Sonic's. I hardly recognized myself, now.

I clenched my fists, which were still inside my normal gloves. At least I hadn't needed to take them off. I looked down at my feet. Ian's plan had worked like a charm—though if I recalled correctly, Sonic's shoes had looked a bit different than the ones I now wore. I think they had some sort of…indention in the middle of their bottoms? But then again, I could be mistaken.

I'd already seen Ben's costume. He had heard about Ian's plans ahead of time, and had gotten a costume of Sonic's little fox-friend. I forget the name. Regardless, I was petrified at actually going out there like this tonight. I'd draw attention, that was a given. No costume shop had an outfit that looked as much like that Faker as I currently did. I felt silly.

Chaos and Order, I can't believe I'm doing this…

"Hey, Sonic! Ready to go?"

I clenched my eyes shut. And of course, Ben isn't helping matters…

I turned around. Wow, that mask he's wearing is realistic. Apparently it fit over his head like a second skin, allowing him to move the mouth and eyebrows on the face like his own would. Wonder how he breathes in it…

"Yeah, I'm ready."

Ben shook his head, the synthetic orange fur waving around. "No, no, no, you're doing it wrong. Sonic's voice sounds more high-pitched."

"Ben…" I gave a warning growl. He snickered, vanishing back the way he came.

I walked into the front room to find a large Chao sitting on the carpet. I blinked at it.

"Hi Shadow!" The Chao waved at me, speaking in a muffled female voice. It took me a couple moments to realize the little creature was Maria, inside her costume.

I smiled. "Maria, you look great." I complemented her. She gave a giggle.

"Thanks. So do you." My smile became strained when she said that. Argh…

"Don't remind me." I muttered, prompting another giggle from her.

"All right!" Ian exclaimed, entering the room in his Eggman outfit with Ben in tow. "Everybody set? Shadow, you ready? Maria, Ben, got your bags?"

We all nodded.

"Okay then! I'll see you guys at seven-thirty. Have a good time!" He waved us out the door, and stood watching as we traipsed off together. What a sight we must make right now.

Here we go…

* * *

"MOMMY, LOOK! IT'S SONIC!" 

"EEK! Ohmigosh, it's really him!"

"Wow, what's he doing over here in the Western Provinces?"

"Do you think I should ask for his autograph?"

"And look! There's Tails, too! Ooh, he's so CUUUTE!"

I gritted my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut. I knew this would happen. I KNEW this would happen!

Crowds of costumed trick-or-treaters were following us around, whispering amongst themselves and pointing at us. Why did I allow myself to be tortured like this? Why?

I've been asked for my autograph at least a dozen times already. I swear, I'll kick the next person I see in the head if they so much as MENTION my appearance. All this attention was really making me irritable.

Ben, of course, was finding it immensely funny, and was putting on his best impression of that fox-boy 'Tails' for the entertainment of the fans. I felt like strangling him.

"C'mon Maria, hold my hand. I don't want you getting lost in this crowd." I murmured. She nodded, putting her light-blue Chao paw in my palm. I had to keep reminding myself she was human, which was impressive for a costume.

Entities, when would this be over?

Maria pulled me in the direction of another house, and I reluctantly followed. There had to be some way I could get out of this without hurting Maria's feelings. There had to be!

"TRICK OR TREAT!" Maria and Ben blared in unison as the door opened. As usual, the people who stood there gawked at us for a moment, completely stunned by the appearance of what seemed to be Sonic the Hedgehog on their doorstep. Eventually the realization of what we were here for must have entered their minds, since they shook off their paralysis and went about filling Maria and Ben's bags up with tasty sweets. They stared at me quite a lot, though—even after the candy had been given and we were walking away from the house, they kept the door open to peer after us with wide eyes. I had no doubt in my mind that those people would later be telling this story to their grandchildren, if they had any.

I checked my watch and groaned. It was only 7:00! How was I going to put up with another half-hour of this?

"'Scuse me, Mr. Sonic, sir…"

I blinked, looking down at another random costumed kid who'd gotten up enough nerves to approach us.

"…um, could I have your autograph?"

* * *

---------------------------------------- 

**Western Province – Milojo Village **

**October 31, 3236**

**7:29 CMT (Central Mobian Time)**

----------------------------------------

Ben and Maria bounded into the house ahead of me, the latter squealing with glee the whole way. I dragged myself in and barely remembered to wipe my shoes off before collapsing in a chair.

Ian walked in and grinned at me sympathetically. "Rough night?"

I groaned. "My feet are killing me."

"What happened out there?"

I weakly raised one hand to point at the door. "Go open it and take a look for yourself. I dare you."

Giving me a perplexed look, he walked over and did as requested. His eyes grew two sizes when he saw almost the entire village congregated outside his door, trying to get a look at 'Sonic'. When they saw him, he was instantly bombarded with questions from the villagers he knew—and even some he didn't. Panicking, he quickly shut the door and locked it, leaning his back up against it with a frightened look on his face.

I gave him a smirk that needed no explanation. He held his hands up in defeat. "Okay, okay, maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all. That's fine. But really, once we get you cleaned up and show them what you really look like, they'll back off."

My smirk didn't wane. "No, it'll make things worse. How many of those people do you think saw the news coverage of me stealing Chaos Emeralds? And how many of them saw me get involved in the fight against the Biolizard? I'm famous now, too."

"Well, actually…" Ian swept a hand through his blond hair uneasily. "Um, I really didn't want to tell you this, but…the governments around here never really acknowledged your involvement. They credited Sonic with saving the world, instead."

My expression went flat. "What?"

"I guess since they thought you were dead, they didn't really see any reason to mention you…"

Sarcasm surfaced. "Oh, saving the world from destruction isn't reason enough?" I put a hand to my chin, lapsing into thought. "No, I think they're doing that to punish me for helping start the whole fiasco in the first place. It makes sense, doesn't it? Why praise me when it was my fault all along?"

"Because you realized you were wrong, and took steps to correct those misdeeds. At least you had the hindsight to notice the problem. That's more than I can say for several of this area's politicians." Ian smiled. "C'mon, we'd better get you cleaned up before that dye becomes a permanent part of your fur."

I leaped out of the chair so fast I knocked it over. "Sorry," I muttered, setting it back upright. "Good idea, though. I'll be in the shower if you need me." I bolted from the room as fast as I could go without my skates.

* * *

Thank the Entities, I was able to get that twice-damned dye out and look NORMAL again. I breathed a sigh of complete and total relief as my familiar black-and-red reflection stared back at me in the bathroom mirror. Good to be me again. 

I swear, I will never participate in this ridiculous holiday again for as long as I live. So help me Chaos and Order, it won't happen.

I walked through the house to my room, thoughts dark and brooding. So busy was I with them, that I hardly noticed my surroundings as they passed by. I caught a glimpse of Ben at one point, sitting in his room and eating the fruit of tonight's labors. He waved one hand at me as I strode past his doorway, while using the other to repeatedly shove candy into his mouth. I absently waved back without looking up or changing expression. Figures the kid would start eating his candy the moment he got home. Sometimes, I swear he's got a bottomless pit for a stomach. Wonder how he stays so thin…

As I entered my room, I didn't even notice Maria, who had since shed her Chao costume, standing in the middle of the floor. She gave a light cough to attract my attention, and I blinked in surprise upon seeing her. "Maria? What are you doing in here?"

The little girl lowered her gaze shyly, tracing circles in the carpet with one foot. "Well…" She began, before breaking into a run and tackling me around the waist in a bear-hug. "Thank you for coming with me tonight, Shadow." She murmured. "I had a great time."

Oh, wow. I could practically feel my heart melt as I watched her. My reaction was typical, standing there like a stunned mullet as she embraced me. Say something, you idiot! My mind yelled.

"You're welcome, Maria. Anytime." I hugged her back, feeling an odd sense of elation swelling up within me, expressed best as a 'warm and fuzzy' feeling. For the first time in quite a while, I felt loved. It was a great sensation that seemed to buoy me up into the air like my hoverskates did, making me whole and complete. It's funny, in a way—I hadn't really been aware of how much I'd missed this feeling until now.

Maybe Halloween wasn't so bad after all…


	4. Author's Note

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1/27/04

—————

I'm a week later with this chapter than I'd intended, and I blame the Flu. But come to think of it, I wasn't infected with any normal measly little flu virus, oh no no no. If this flu had a name, it would be something like Siberian Death Flu. During the week I had this evil little disease, there was just about enough strength in my body to blink my eyes and do nothing else. For a while I could only communicate with the 'one blink means yes, two blinks means no' method. It was rough. 

But now I'm back! Sort of. I've still got a slew of other illnesses just begging to launch assaults against my weakened immune system, not the least of which is the lovable, adorable Pink Eye. Sadly, I have to venture back out into the outside world regardless to make up for the week I missed. Don'cha just love walking around among your peers while looking like you got 10 minutes of sleep the night before? Yeah, me too. And the best thing is: it's contagious! Fun for everyone, wouldn't you say? Yup, 'share the love', that's my new motto.

Gack, sarcasm overload…

Well, anyway, about chapter 3. I'd originally intended to put its flashback in chapter 2, but FF.Net thinks it's massive fun to upload the entire segment without _italics._ So, it get's one of those location-establishing titles at its top. Bah, I'll fix it later. Enjoy the chapter, I've made it extra-long to make up for my extended absence. Be warned, my next chapter might not come in exactly a week, either. Again, I blame illness. That, and bad weather.

Okay, I'll stop making excuses now. Hope you enjoy the chap, and please drop a bit of a review to tell me what you think about it! Thanks!

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1/12/04

—————

Just a quick update. I've finished several more chapters now for this story, and will be posting them once per week for the next while. Expect the next update next Monday at the earliest. Chapter 2 was meant to be longer, to tell the truth—but I had problems with one of the flashback scenes. Seems the Document Manager just doesn't want to upload it in italics. Oh well, I'll try to fix that before I post it next time.

In other news, I've been really really busy lately—and holiday break didn't help, since I was traveling the whole time and didn't have access to a computer. Sorry about the wait, and I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year's. I've been unable to write any more on my other stories—just working on this one was difficult enough—and Sonic Heroes came out last week, giving me another major distraction. Dang, I guess Shadow's survival is no longer a 'What If' anymore, is it? It's now a fact that he did survive, in order to appear in the new game. (Sigh) Oh, well.

Hope you guys enjoy the chapter. I'll be looking forward to hearing from you about it.

--Stoney


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